The Little Fairy Photo Effect

This new lesson
we’ll learn to represent disproportionate big doll eyes, correct the
colors, add the shadows, change the background and combine different
photos.

Open in a new window the picture of a little girl: File – Open (ctrl+o)

Copy this layer to be possible to work with it: Layer – Duplicate Layer. Erase the previous layer: Layer – Delete – Layer. The wall behind the girl seems to be very bright; we need to mark it with Polygonal Lasso Tool and delete it with the Delete button on the keyboard.

Erase now the markings: Select – Deselect
(ctrl+d) and open in a new window (ctrl+o) the photo of a Japanese
doll, which eyes are situated under the same angle our girl on the
picture has.

Mark the eyes and make a copy of them: Edit – Copy (ctrl+c). Get back now to the previous window and insert them on a new layer: Edit – Paste (ctrl+v). Change their size and angle of placement, selecting Edit – Free Transform (ctrl+t).

Mark
out now by turn each eye and make the necessary corrections on the
brightness and on the color. It’s necessary for the skin’s color around
the eyes to coincide on maximum with the girl’s skin’s color. The right
eye should be corrected applying Image – Adjustments – Curves (ctrl+m).

Correct the left one too by using Image – Adjustments – Selective Color.

Mark out and erase that part of the picture introduced previously situated above the girl’s fingers.

Create now a mask out of the layer containing the eyes: Layer – Add Layer Mask – Reveal All. Hide now those parts of the skin around the eyes, using the Gradient Tool of black color.

Select now the next command: Layer – Remove Layer Mask – Apply. Using the Dodge Tool,
it’s necessary to decolorize the iris of both eyes and make them look
identical. In some places we’ll need to dark out the iris, but in
others – to illuminate them. We should use for this manipulation the Dodge Tool. Select after that the Smudge Tool to smudge very accurately the bounds between the light and the shadow.

Select the Smudge Tool to stretch out a little the eyelashes and increase the pupil of the right eye.

Increase now the work place in its highness, selecting the Crop Tool.
Insert on the new layer the texture reserved for the wall. Move this
layer under the girl’s layer and correct the texture’s sizes, using Edit – Free Transform (ctrl+t).

Copy the layer having the girl on it (ctrl+j) and blur out this copy with Filter -Blur – Gaussian Blur.

Change the layer’s type on Multiply and minimize the Opacity till 70%.

Merge down these layers: Layer – Merge Down (ctrl+e), then make the corrections on the brightness and on the color, applying this command: Image – Adjustments – Curves (ctrl+m).

Add more contrast on the picture, using Image – Adjustments – Levels (ctrl+l).

Select also the Curves option (ctrl+m) to correct a little the layer containing the wall.

Insert now the girl’s shadow, but first copy the layer with the girl (??trl+j) and apply the next command: Image – Adjustments – Threshold to make the layer look black entirely.

Blur out the copy (Gaussian Blur) and move it lower than the basic layer of the girl. Minimize the Opacity of the layer till 55%.

Use on a new layer after that a brush that can be downloaded here: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/15260491/?qo=32&q=by%3Aspiritsighs-stock&qh=sort%3Atime+-in%3Ascraps to picture a small wing:

Place this wing on the girl’s head (Ctrl+t):

Then make use of the next combinations: Edit – Flip Horizontal and Edit – Flip Vertical to represent out of the wings very original ears:

The wings’ edges that touch the girl’s hair must be processed with Eraser Tool of a big size and smooth edges to make them unclear on the touch place.

Use the Pen Tool to create on her head the antennas, choosing in the Brush Tool adjustments a brush Hard Round with 3-6 px.

Select after that Brush Tool to represent on the antennas’ endings a bulge:

Create out of this layer a mask: Layer – Layer Mask – Reveal all and use the Gradient Tool to make the bottom of the antennas coming out smoothly from her head.

Select the next command: Layer – Remove Layer Mask – Apply to combine the layers containing the antennas and the “ears”. As we may see, their colors should be changed. Do it with Image – Adjustments – Selective Color.

Make another copy of this layer (ctrl+j) and blur it out, selecting the Gaussian Blur option of 2,5 px. Minimize also the layer’s Opacity till 50%.

Open now in new windows (ctrl+o) the images of a clock, a frame and a marguerite flower.

Cut
them out and insert each of these objects on a new layer. After that we
need to correct their sizes and their angles of placement (ctrl+t)
(we’ll need after that the cut flower, that’s why make another copy of
the flower and insert it in another window just not to cut it again
after that).

Insert on the frame the picture of a butterfly:

Place it by using these options: Edit – Transform – Distort and Edit – Free Transform (ctrl+t).

The
picture of the clock was of a bad quality. Just make the necessary
manipulations by copying this layer with the clock (??trl+j) and
blurring out (Gaussian Blur) the copy. Change the layer’s type on Multiply.

Combine the layers with the clock (ctrl+e) and increase the brightness of the layer, selecting Curves (ctrl+m).

Make the middle of the flower have an intensive orange color (ctrl+u).

Change the color of the frame:

Introduce
the shadows on each of the layers containing these three objects (the
frame, the clock and the marguerite). It’s necessary to use for this
action the next command: Layer – Layer Style – Blending Options- with the following adjustments:

Merge down these layers and the layer containing the butterfly’s picture too (ctrl+e).

Correct the color of the new layer, applying Curves (ctrl+m).

Add the flares on the girl’s eyes, making use of the same Brush Tool of white color:

Merge down all the layers: Layer – Merge Visible (shift+ctrl+e). Then select the Crop Tool and Rectangular Tool to insert the illustration in a frame also:

Insert on a new layer one more flower of marguerite (the copy we made earlier).

Place it in the lowest corner (ctrl+t) and correct its color, using the Curves option (??trl+m) and the same method we applied earlier with the first flower.

Combine
all the layers again (shift+ctrl+t) and give to this new layer a kind
of yellow nuance. It’s possible to do that by applying Image –
Adjustments – Photo Filter.

Now
we should copy the layer (ctrl+j), blur it out with Gaussian Blur of
2,5 px. Change the layer’s copy type on Soft Light. Minimize the
Opacity till 20%.